Victorian London was not a happy place to be, and the facts speak for themselves. Prostitution was rife, poverty and crime were prevalent and 19th-century housing was barely habitable. Finding work in 1888 was extremely difficult for the residents of Whitechapel, feeding into the cycle of destitution and depravity.
What was going on in London in 1888?
Jack the Ripper terrorized London in 1888, killing at least five women and mutilating their bodies in an unusual manner, indicating that the killer had a substantial knowledge of human anatomy.
How was life in London in the 1800s?
London’s population grew rapidly during the 19th century. This lead to major problems with overcrowding and poverty. Disease and early death were common for both rich and poor people. Victorian children did not have as many toys and clothes as children do today and many of them were homemade.
What was happening in London in the 1880s?
In the 1880s and 1890s tens of thousands of Jews escaping persecution and poverty in Eastern Europe came to London and settled largely in the East End around Houndsditch, Whitechapel, Aldgate, and parts of Spitalfields.
What was the East End of London like in 1888?
The East End of London in 1888 is often depicted as being one vast slum that was inhabited by an immoral and criminal population who were little better than savages.
How did people live in 1888?
Housing was extremely over-crowded, with entire families or groups of strangers crammed into a single room for cooking, eating and sleeping. They would share beds or sleep on the floor, with rags covering broken windows and often flea or insect-infested environments.
What was 1888 famous for?
January 13 – The National Geographic Society is founded in Washington, D.C. January 21 – The Amateur Athletic Union is founded by William Buckingham Curtis in the United States. January 26 – The Lawn Tennis Association is founded in England. February 6 – Gillis Bildt becomes Prime Minister of Sweden (1888–1889).
What did London smell like in the 1800s?
In the 19th century, London was the capital of the largest empire the world had ever known — and it was infamously filthy. It had choking, sooty fogs; the Thames River was thick with human sewage; and the streets were covered with mud.
What did Victorians smell like?
By the middle of the Victorian era, bergamot and lemon oil had surpassed Eau de Cologne to become the most popular fragrance for women. According to Goodman: “Bergamot and lemon oil, sometimes employed separately but more often used in combination, was the signature smell of the middle years of the century.
What did Victorian London smell like?
The smell of human waste and industrial effluent hung over Victorian London. For centuries the River Thames had been used as a dumping ground for the capital’s waste and as the population grew, so did the problem.
What was it like to be poor in London in the 1800s?
The Victorian period was a miserable time to be poor. Assistance was only awarded to people who could earn a living, however meagre that living might be. Those who would not or could not work were treated as an ‘underclass’ whose impoverished state was akin to a criminal offence.
What were homes like in the 1880s?
By the 1880s most working-class people lived in houses with two rooms downstairs and two or even three bedrooms. Most had a small garden. At the end of the 19th century, some houses for skilled workers were built with the latest luxury – an indoor toilet.
Why was Victorian London so poor?
During the Victorian era, the rates of people living in poverty increased drastically. This is due to many factors, including low wages, the growth of cities (and general population growth), and lack of stable employment.
Is Poplar London still poor?
TOUGH LONDON
Tower Hamlets in east London, which includes Poplar & Limehouse, is the third poorest local authority in England.
What were the living conditions in Whitechapel?
sleep, sharing beds. Rags covered the broken windows in damp, insect-infested rooms which had little ventilation. Water came from shared standpipes in the street and sanitation was almost non-existent beyond poorly maintained outside shared lavatories. The annual death rate in Whitechapel was more than 50 in 1,000.
Why did people not just leave Whitechapel?
THEY RARELY LEAVE THE DISTRICT
The Whitechapel folk are mostly to the manor born. Their parents lived there before them and died there, and so they and their children are born there, pass their lives there and end their miserable existences there.
What was going on during 1888?
1888. March 11, 1888: The Great Blizzard of 1888 strikes the East Coast of the United States. August 31, 1888: Jack the Ripper’s first victim is discovered in London. November 6, 1888: President Grover Cleveland loses his bid for reelection to Benjamin Harrison.
Was Whitechapel a slum?
Famously known for the Jack the Ripper murders, Whitechapel easily became one of the most notorious slums in Victorian London (Diniejko). Whitechapel wasn’t always a slum. Up until the end of the 16th century it was a “relatively prosperous district” (Diniejko).
What was created in 1888?
September 4 – George Eastman is granted a US patent for his roll film camera, for which he registers the trademark Kodak. October 3 – The first patent for a ballpoint pen is granted to John Loud, a British tanner who wishes to produce a writing instrument that can write on leather.
Who ruled the UK in 1888?
Edward VII, in full Albert Edward, (born November 9, 1841, London, England—died May 6, 1910, London), king of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and of the British dominions and emperor of India from 1901, an immensely popular and affable sovereign and a leader of society.
What battle was in 1888?
The Black Mountain Expedition of October to November 1888, also known as the ‘Hazara Field Force 1888’; one of the first major campaigns on the North-West Frontier of India in the last two decades of the 19th Century. War: Operations on the North-West Frontier of India.